Build communities, not prisons

Build communities, not prisons

Building stronger communities with better engagement programs and supports will make everybody safer.

Tough on crime policies do not make our communities safer, or prevent crime and re-offending. Rehabilitation and Justice Reinvestment, not more prisons is what we need.

Rehabilitation not more prisons is what we need. Many offenders come from and return to a small number of disadvantaged communities. Justice Reinvestment shifts money from more prison beds to fund programs in communities to address the underlying causes of crime.

The Greens will improve our justice system by:

Stopping the building of new prisons and redirecting funding towards establishing an Independent Centre for Justice Reinvestment and $80 million in crime prevention programs. We will also build two new drugs courts in regional Victoria to target substance abuse and related crime and expand specialist court services to people on bail, including the Courts Integrated Services Program (CISP), cultural, addiction, and mental health services. Read our detailed plan for building communities not prison here [PDF]

Providing better access to justice through increased funding of $132 million to Legal Aid and Community Legal Centres. The justice system is an essential public service that must be accessible to all, not just the wealthy. The Greens are committed to ensuring that every Victorian has access to legal assistance. Read our detailed plan for access to justice here [PDF]

Restoring the power of the judiciary to apply a sentence based on all of the facts of every individual case by repealing mandatory sentencing laws for criminal offences, leaving the independent courts to decide sentences; and reinstating all sentencing options available to the courts, including suspended sentences and home detention where appropriate. Read our detailed plan for Smarter Sentencing here [PDF]

Introducing spent convictions legislation for eligible non-serious offenders who haven’t reoffended for a significant number of years. The legislation will be consistent with laws already operating in all other Australian states. We will also amend Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of a person’s irrelevant criminal record. Victoria is the only Australian jurisdiction where a person’s criminal record can last forever, regardless of whether their conviction was for a minor offence that’s decades old. Read our detailed plan for spent convictions here [PDF]

We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this country as the first inhabitants, and the custodians of the lands where we live and work. We pay tribute to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and give respect to Elders past, present and emerging.